h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Eight and a half years ago, for my school graduation, my grandmother gave me money to go on holiday. Tomorrow, I'm finally going to take that holiday - and Yarreau, my sister, and my brother-in-law are coming too! We're going to Alsace for a week's horse riding.

Have fun!

Have a wonder time!

"a week's horse riding"

Won't the horse get tired?

That sounds like a beautiful holiday - I hanker after visiting Alsace myself one day, so am looking forward to hearing all about it when you return.

ps keep a good grip on the horse, no falling off! Have lots of fun!

We do plan to get off occasionally to eat and sleep...

I doubt my grandmother would remember she gave me that money. She was worse than usual when we visited today - not only had she neeeever seen the place she's lived in for 2 1/2 years, she was accusing me of keeping from her the fact that her mother had died. (I have the perfect excuse - my great-grandmother died about ten years before I was born!)

have a brilliant time- hope it's even better than the nine years of anticipation!

Have a wonderful time!

Enjoy your holiday!!!

Have a great time Mala

have some chourcrout garnie and a decent bottle of crémant d'alsace brut for me

Have a great time! I hope the weather is fabulous.

I would say enjoy yourself, but I am sure you will.

"a week's horse riding"

Especially if it's carrying three people

Have a lovely time, but at the moment, the weather here (40 mins drive from the Alsatian border) is not looking good. Wet and windy.

For Christmas I gave my sis-in-law a book about two girls who were friends in the first half of the last century. They lived in Alsace. She gave it to me to read yesterday when we saw her. She says it is amazing what they went through in those years - when it was under German rule they weren't allowed to speak French and vice versa. The language problem was probably the least of their worries - it was much worse. This part of history is very little know - at least in this part of the world. I hadn't read it myself, but shall do now. Just in case you would like to read it, too, it's called "Martha und Mathilde" by Pascale Hugues.

These days the history manifests itself in that old people in Alsace speak German but younger people speak absolutely no German at all and are discouraged from doing so, although many have German-sounding names, and most place-names are German.

Famous Alsatians (off the top of my head) include Dreyfuss (J'accuse), Marie Tussaud, Albert Schweitzer.

Things to do: drink wine, eat Flammkuchen and Baeckoffe, buy ceramics (Soufflenheim), visit Schlumpf museum http://www.musees-alsace.org/Pages/Index.php?Langue=En and/or Strasbourg. And Choucroute with everything. (I even had trout with sauerkraut once, ask Spiff - U185155)

Lots of hills and water. Good food, good riding. Good choice!

There's a smurf museum?

What am I saying? Of *course* there's a smurf museum.

Well, I made it back home and Mala should be boarding her plane back to the Green Isle around now... we actually never did go to Alsace, it turned out the place was in Lorraine!

Unfortunately, I injured myself in a bad fall on the very first day. No, I did NOT fall off a horse! I haven't done that in well over thirty years. Instead, I fell off my chair at the breakfast table and hurt my tailbone on the stone floor.
Riding for several hours every day was rather painful after that, but great fun anyway. For the first time, I got to try all five gaits that Icelandic horses have to offer.


I'm still wondering whether I should go see a doctor tomorrow and find out if my tailbone is just bruised or actually broken. But I've never seen anyone with a plaster cast around their behinds, so I doubt there is much a doctor could do anyway. It will probably mend by itself.

I seem to remember Mal breaking her tailbone too - it must run in the family! Just be careful walking up and down stairs.

I got to try out *six* gaits - including one historic one that's not been recognised for hundreds of years...

Now waiting around in Dublin airport. They cancelled the 10 o'clock bus